NYPD Chief claims ability to "take down a plane." What caliber for Boeing???

NYPD Chief claims ability to "take down a plane." What caliber for Boeing???

This is a discussion on NYPD Chief claims ability to "take down a plane." What caliber for Boeing??? within the Law Enforcement, Military & Homeland Security Discussion forums, part of the Related Topics category; HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com
Commissioner Ray Kelly tells CBS' "60 Minutes" that after the Sept. 11 attacks, he decided the city couldn't rely on the federal ...

NYPD Chief claims ability to "take down a plane." What caliber for Boeing???

Commissioner Ray Kelly tells CBS' "60 Minutes" that after the Sept. 11 attacks, he decided the city couldn't rely on the federal government alone. He set about creating the NYPD's own counter-terrorism unit. He says the department is prepared for multiple scenarios and could even take down a plane.

They must have a missile battery somewhere, but hard to believe the Feds would allow them to operate it. Could possibly be just a helicopter armed with heat seeking. Either way, not a comforting feeling next time I'm flying into NYC.

A man fires a rifle for many years, and he goes to war. And afterward he turns the rifle in at the armory, and he believes he's finished with the rifle. But no matter what else he might do with his hands - love a woman, build a house, change his son's diaper - his hands remember the rifle.

Okay Bubba now were gonna have to put the Cessna 172 into a steep dive to get enough acceleration to get the rope Billy Joe is hanging from in front of the engines so he can start flinging frozen Turkeys into them so we can bring it down,don't worry too much about Billy gettin sucked in,the 2x4 we got tied to his back should be wide enough to keep him from getting sucked into the engines.

Does he actually mean SHOOT down a plane, or "take down" a plane meaning storming a plane that has been taken over by hijackers, but that is on the ground?

I'm pretty certain that storming a plane full of hijackers is what he was referring to. I was just going to post the exact same thing.

I don't believe he was inferring he has the authority to shoot down a commercial airliner full of passengers, let alone possessing the hardware necessary to do it. I'm not certain anyone has the authority outside of the national command authority to authorize such a thing when a plane full of passengers is airborne.

On the ground, sitting on the tarmac within your city limits is a whole other deal. Between him and the mayor, they probably do have the authority to make those decisions when a plane is on the ground at LaGuardia, JFK or anyone of the other smaller airports.

Storming a plane full of hijackers up to now has usually been under the preview of the FBI HRT, or other DoD type units when on foreign soil. It's no small feat to perform such a task. I believe Commissioner Kelly was indicating that his ESU units have probably been receiving the specialized training, and obtaining the necessary hardware so that if necessary, his units could perform such a mission.

While they may have the capability, I doubt they have the authority to storm an aircraft on the ground without approval from the fed's. As for shooting down an aircraft, even if they have the capability, they don't have authorization. They also wouldn't have the monetary resources for the lawsuits that it would entail.

I also saw the show last night and assumed he was speaking of the NYPD having the US Army in the command center, and if something like that needed to be done they would work it through those guys. It wouldn't surprise me to find that there were hidden missile batteries around the city but I'll guarantee that they are staffed with military personnel.

Given that "taking down an airliner", however you define that, is under the Federal power of "to provide for the common defense" in the preamble of the Constitution, NYC officials appear to be prepared to overstep their bounds on this one. They are just a bit too big for their britches and need to be smacked down by the voters. They are a city, not a country.